PANAJI
The third edition of the Indian Super League will kick off on Saturday with NorthEast United FC hosting Kerala Blasters at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati. The remaining six teams will also get into action in the next few days.
With an array of stars in all the teams in the competition, ISL fans have been treated to a wonderful exhibition of football in the last two editions with Atletico de Kolkata and Chennaiyin FC winning the first and second edition respectively.
There are a number of players from Spain and Brazil among others, which adds all the flair in football, making it even more worth watching. Even the Indian players have impressed with their style of football.
FC Goa and Kerala Blasters have strong teams and as things stand, both will be keen to give their best in order to win the maiden title. FC Goa in particular, under Zico, are even more determined this season to go all out for the ISL silverware as they play their first match away against NorthEast United on October 4 and return home to host FC Pune City at Nehru Stadium on October 8. The star attraction for the season will include former Atletico Madrid and Manchester United star Diego Forlan, Brazilian World Cup-winner Lucio, ex-Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda and former Liverpool and AS Roma star John Arne Riise.
Besides the cultural part, the opening ceremony at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium will feature a galaxy of Bollywood stars dancing to Hindi chartbusters.
Bollywood heartthrobs Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandes and Varun Dhawan, along with about 500 performers are ready to rock the stadium in the opening show.
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